Mental health, resilience and the recession in Bradford

Which coping strategies helped unemployed people in Bradford during times of recession? This research explores the mental health impacts of unemployment. Researchers spoke to 16 focus groups in Bradford that included 73 unemployed people to find out how job losses affected everyday well-being and which personal coping strategies and financial support opportunities were helpful. Participants revealed how financial losses could affect mental health and how aspects such as the loss of a previously valued social role and a lack of structure during the day also played a part. The study: - examines the impact of involuntary unemployment across different groups; - identifies the dangers to mental health associated with unemployment; and - presents the different coping strategies used by men and women and by different age groups. It identifies five main issues that require further policy attention to ensure that people who are unemployed do not also suffer from mental ill-health

Developing critical reflection within an interprofessional learning programme

Reflective practice is accepted as being a key component of professional education and practice in health and social care. However an emphasis on self reflection frequently fails to broaden the lens to take into account wider issues of power and inequality, to move beyond technical rationalism and remains at the individual level rather than being embedded within relational notions of dialogue both within teams and across professions. This paper will challenge traditional uniprofessional models of reflection through the development of an approach to interprofessional learning informed by models of critical practice that seek to critique and transcend traditional professional boundaries. Attention will also be paid to the central importance of service users as the essential focus of collaborative team working. The implications of embedding critical reflection as a key component of an integrated strategy for interprofessional learning will be discussed with reference to the development of a new interprofessional learning strategy for pre registration students within which reflective practice is introduced as both a discrete unit and a continuing theme throughout the curriculum. The paper will conclude that a model of critical and reflective practice will enable future practitioners to respond to the transformation of previously compartmentalised ways of thinking and working and the challenge of new ways of working

Tutor experiences of developing an interprofessional learning (IPL) programme in higher education (HE): recognising a parallel process in tutors and students

TUTOR EXPERIENCES OF DEVELOPING AN INTERPROFESSIONAL LEARNING (IPL) PROGRAMME IN HIGHER EDUCATION (HE):RECOGNISING A PARALLEL PROCESS IN TUTORS AND STUDENTS. Smith S1, Kate K1; 1Leeds Metropolitan University,Leeds,UK. 2Leeds Metropolitan University,Leeds, UK PURPOSE: This exploratory study aimed to investigate the interprofessional experiences of tutors at Leeds Metropolitan University working together to develop a new IPL programme for pre-registration health and social care students.This new IPL programme is assessed and integrated into the health and social care curricula RELEVANCE: A major drive in the UK and internationally to educate physiotherapists and other health and social care profesisonals together aims to prepare students for the reality of being effective team workers in practice. Previous research has recognised the importance of preparing tutors for interprofessional education (IPE) and described how tutors of IPL can be effective role models for their students. PARTICIPANTS: 12 Faculty of Health tutors, working in the IPL programme, were invited to volunteer for this study. Tutors were from the pre-registration physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dietetics and social work programmes. METHODS: A qualitative approach utilised individual semi structured taped interviews to explore the tutors’ experiences of working together to plan the new programme. Both researchers carried out the interviews. ANALYSIS: Transcribed interviews underwent a thematic content analysis.Categories and themes were developed using the phrase as the unit of analysis. Member checking of the transcripts was used to check for accuracy RESULTS: Four key themes were identified: Communication issues (bilingualism), professionally tribalistic behaviour, workplace geography and critical reflection. Participants described difficulties understanding other tutors’ profession-specific language and difficulties relinquishing “power” by having to “give up” their profession specific module content to the IPL programme. Participants also addressed difficulties in working interprofessionally when staff were located in different buildings. Tutors discussed how reflecting informally on their own IP practice helped them understand the parallel process they needed to engender in the students. Participants mentioned the lack of reflective frameworks on which to structure their own critical reflection. Tutors recognised the negotiation and bargaining that occurs in thier IPL planning meetings reflected the reality of IP working which students will have to face in future practice. CONCLUSIONS: The new programme encourages tutors to view IPL not as an “add on” but as part of their core work.Tutors recognised that skills they used in IP meetings were the very skills they needed to facilitate in their students. Tutors were encouraged to challenge other tutors who use profession specific jargon and encourage development of a shared plain language.If tutors can understand and internalise the challenges of working interprofessionally they are in an optimal position themselves to support students and be effective role models. Current and future work concentrates on i) Generating a tutor training pack founded on this study’s findings ii) Developing a new model of critical reflection that provides a framework for students and tutors to reflect on their IP experiences. There was recognition that the small sample limits the generalisbility of findings. Issues of bias because the interviewers were not independent were reflected upon. IMPLICATIONS: Pre registration physiotherapists need to be prepared for the realities of practice both at home and abroad. Effective physiotherapy practice is not just uniprofessional practice. Multiprofessional tutors with insight into the challenges of IP working can catalyse this process in all their student

Plant structural complexity and mechanical defenses mediate predator-prey interactions in an odonate-bird system.

Habitat-forming species provide refuges for a variety of associating species; these refuges may mediate interactions between species differently depending on the functional traits of the habitat-forming species. We investigated refuge provisioning by plants with different functional traits for dragonfly and damselfly (Odonata: Anisoptera and Zygoptera) nymphs emerging from water bodies to molt into their adult stage. During this period, nymphs experience high levels of predation by birds. On the shores of a small pond, plants with mechanical defenses (e.g., thorns and prickles) and high structural complexity had higher abundances of odonate exuviae than nearby plants which lacked mechanical defenses and exhibited low structural complexity. To disentangle the relative effects of these two potentially important functional traits on nymph emergence-site preference and survival, we conducted two fully crossed factorial field experiments using artificial plants. Nymphs showed a strong preference for artificial plants with high structural complexity and to a lesser extent, mechanical defenses. Both functional traits increased nymph survival but through different mechanisms. We suggest that future investigations attempt to experimentally separate the elements contributing to structural complexity to elucidate the mechanistic underpinnings of refuge provisioning

Who calls the tune? Participation and partnership in research

yesThis paper explores issues of partnership and participation in research and evaluation, drawing on the experiences of evaluating a move from hostel accommodation to independent supported living for people with mental health difficulties or learning disabilities. The service change project involved a partnership between a local authority and a housing association with over 300 people moving into their own tenancies in newly-built flats and bungalows. The accompanying evaluation was designed on a model of service user participation and action research and was specifically concerned to explore the impact of the changes on people’s actual or perceived social inclusion into local communities. Ten service user and carer researchers, some of whom were directly involved in the move from hostel to independent living, were recruited and worked with ‘professional’ researchers to examine both the process and the outcomes of the move. The work will be viewed through the insights offered by feminist, transformative and participatory approaches to research. The ‘positioning’ of the researcher in relation to boundaries and the construction of the ‘other’ will be considered, emphasising an approach grounded in reflexivity and an acknowledgement of the complex ethical issues involved. A key feature of this study has been the negotiation involved between a complex change project and a participatory evaluation design. Learning points from the work so far will also be considered in terms of their wider application in future evaluations of complex change projects that involve multiple stakeholders.Published online Nov 2012

Tutor experiences of developing an interprofessional education programme in Higher Education: recognising a parallel process.

Pre registration health and social care students undertake IPL to optimise their interprofessional working skills in preparation for the reality of their future professional practice (Department of Health 2000). The importance of preparing students’ tutors for interprofessional education (IPE) has also been identified (Barr, 2002) as well as the value of using the "IPL team as a way of role modelling" (Cooper, 2004). Additionally tutors’ experiences of IPL can be used as a resource to support student learning (Page and Meerabeau 2004). Nine academic tutors were interviewed in this qualitative study which explored their experiences of planning and implementing a new IPL programme. Tutors described difficulties in relinquishing power, tribalistic behaviour, ineffective communication and geographical constraints during the planning process which hampered their own IPL teamwork. A ‘parallel process’ is identified indicating how tutor experiences in surmounting these issues mirror many of the same skills that the tutors aim to develop in supporting student learners during the IPL programme. Findings are interpreted alongside discussion of the ‘parallel process’ and practical strategies for responding to the challenges of IPL are identified. The value of tutor reflection is discussed in relation to tutors being able to optimally position themselves to support student learners and be effective role models for diverse groups of students undertaking IPL programmes

The Composite Effect of Transgenic Plant Volatiles for Acquired Immunity to Herbivory Caused by Inter-Plant Communications

A blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from plants induced by herbivory enables the priming of defensive responses in neighboring plants. These effects may provide insights useful for pest control achieved with transgenic-plant-emitted volatiles. We therefore investigated, under both laboratory and greenhouse conditions, the priming of defense responses in plants (lima bean and corn) by exposing them to transgenic-plant-volatiles (VOCos) including (E)-β-ocimene, emitted from transgenic tobacco plants (NtOS2) that were constitutively overexpressing (E)-β-ocimene synthase. When lima bean plants that had previously been placed downwind of NtOS2 in an open-flow tunnel were infested by spider mites, they were more defensive to spider mites and more attractive to predatory mites, in comparison to the infested plants that had been placed downwind of wild-type tobacco plants. This was similarly observed when the NtOS2-downwind maize plants were infested with Mythimna separata larvae, resulting in reduced larval growth and greater attraction of parasitic wasps (Cotesia kariyai). In a greenhouse experiment, we also found that lima bean plants (VOCos-receiver plants) placed near NtOS2 were more attractive when damaged by spider mites, in comparison to the infested plants that had been placed near the wild-type plants. More intriguingly, VOCs emitted from infested VOCos-receiver plants affected their conspecific neighboring plants to prime indirect defenses in response to herbivory. Altogether, these data suggest that transgenic-plant-emitted volatiles can enhance the ability to prime indirect defenses via both plant-plant and plant-plant-plant communications

Post-discharge medicines management: the experiences, perceptions and roles of older people and their family carers

YesMultiple changes are made to older patients' medicines during hospital admission, which can sometimes cause confusion and anxiety. This results in problems with post-discharge medicines management, for example medicines taken incorrectly, which can lead to harm, hospital readmission and reduced quality of life. To explore the experiences of older patients and their family carers as they enacted post-discharge medicines management. Semi-structured interviews took place in participants' homes, approximately two weeks after hospital discharge. Data analysis used the Framework method. Recruitment took place during admission to one of two large teaching hospitals in North England. Twenty-seven participants aged 75 plus who lived with long-term conditions and polypharmacy, and nine family carers, were interviewed. Three core themes emerged: impact of the transition, safety strategies and medicines management role. Conversations between participants and health-care professionals about medicines changes often lacked detail, which disrupted some participants' knowledge and medicines management capabilities. Participants used multiple strategies to support post-discharge medicines management, such as creating administration checklists, seeking advice or supporting primary care through prompts to ensure medicines were supplied on time. The level to which they engaged with these activities varied. Participants experienced gaps in their post-discharge medicines management, which they had to bridge through implementing their own strategies or by enlisting support from others. Areas for improvement were identified, mainly through better communication about medicines changes and wider involvement of patients and family carers in their medicines-related care during the hospital-to-home transition.This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSTRC). This independent research is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number PB-PG-0317-20010)

Include me in: user involvement in research and evaluation

yesPurpose: This paper discusses the experiences of a group of ten user and carer researchers from mental health and learning disability services who worked together in a research and evaluation project between 2009 and 2012. The research project aimed to identify changes that took place as over 300 people moved from hostel accommodation into independent tenancies in flats and bungalows. These moves were part of a three year project involving a partnership between a local authority and a housing association. Design / approach: The paper describes the process of involving user and carers in the research process, identifying the challenges and benefits of involving users and carers. The ways in which people were trained and supported to take part and stay involved are outlined, as well as how the group felt they learnt new skills and increased their confidence. Findings: User involvement in research can mean different things with different levels of involvement, from consultation through to user-controlled research. The collaborative study had a range of benefits for the lives of the co-researchers, as well as contributing to the development of a new independent living service. A number of factors contribute to the success of user involvement in research and these are listed. Originality / value: This paper adds the voices of the co-researchers to the literature and provides ‘lessons learned’ for other researchers in this area